Students clear pond in school grounds to help wildlife

PUPILS at the Piggott School in Wargrave have restored a pond in the school grounds to support wildlife.

Sixteen members of the eco club cleared the pond of rubbish and pond weed over several weeks in the hope that frogs and birds will make it their home this spring.

The club is led by geography teacher Pippa Nutley and Sarah Ball, who runs Wargrave Wild Bird Rescue from her home in Victoria Road.

Mrs Ball, whose two children used to attend the Twyford Road school, said: “We’ve removed 30 to 40 heaped wheelbarrows of thick pond weed by raking it out while in waders. The pond was choked with it.

“All the rubbish has been cleared now too — there was a filing cabinet, scaffolding poles and school bags. We’ll have one more clearance session and then we’ll leave the pond for wildlife to move in, so hopefully we are not disturbing it when the frogs spawn.

“Some ducks arrived to check out the pond while we were working. They are the first wildlife we have seen on or near the pond.”

The eco club meets fortnightly on Mondays and the pupils take part on a rota basis with eight at each session. The work is being supported by a £1,000 donation from the Piggott Trust.

The club hopes to find someone able to lay a small decking area so that the children can try pond dipping as part of their lessons.

The club has opened up the surrounding area by trimming vegetation and picking up litter. Mrs Ball said: “There’s a lovely old mulberry tree that needed reshaping, so we did a bit of tidying up and rejuvenating.

“There were some really thick branches that were spreading a lot. It looks a lot better now.

“Our next task is removing ivy which is strangling the trees. We’ll cut it down low on most of the trees but not all because the ivy berries are good for the birds.

“Then we’ll start creating a path and hopefully put bark chips down.”

Since the club was founded in September, members have started several eco-friendly initiatives at the school, including a Christmas jumper swap to prevent old jumpers from going into landfill and putting posters up reminding people to turn off lights and computers. They are currently working on decorating paper recycling bins for offices at the school.

In the next couple of sessions, the pupils will measure the amount of electricity being used by computers and projectors and will come up with solutions to reduce energy consumption. Ms Nutley said: “Eco Club is new this year and the projects have been chosen by the students themselves.

“By encouraging wildlife on the school site, they are working to create a better environment for the school and the community as a whole.

“Once finished, this will allow our students to explore nature within the school, both through their lessons and as part of extra-curricular opportunities.”